Arise, Dear Quicksilver
by Insane Icon Simon X
Summary: A sinister fic about one of the Senshi turning evil
1. Chapter 1

Arise, Dear Quicksilver - 1  
  
The day started like any other. Within the early hours of the morning, Serena awoke, screaming, and late for school.  
  
"WAHHHHHH! I'm going to be late!" she cried, as she tore out of the house, bag in one hand, breakfast in other, odd socks on her feet.  
  
But for once, she wasn't going to be late, as she arrived, only to find a mass crowd of students stood outside the school. Confused, she began to search for Ami, whom she found stood near the front of the group, with Lita.  
  
"Hey Ami, what's going on?" Serena enquired.  
  
"Oh, hey Serena," replied Ami. "I arrived here this morning to study, and when I got here, there was somebody at the door," Ami then pointed to a hulking brute of a bodyguard, dressed from head to toe in black, wearing a communication earpiece.   
  
"You know what I heard?" added Lita.  
  
"What?" asked both Ami and Serena.  
  
"That some big Hollywood person has come to hire the school grounds for some new movie he's filming."  
  
"Really? I've always wanted to be in the movies!" Serena gasped, entering a dreamland, of the bright lights of Hollywood. Yes, she could see it now, the high life, the elegant clothes, the publicity parties, all with Darien by her side. Ah, such a pleasant dream! Full of great dreams and hopes, and Darien! Don't forget Darien.  
  
But Serena's dream was short-lived, and disturbed by the emergence from the school of several people, including the school principal, and a tall, blonde male. Lita and Serena took one look at the male, and turned red.  
  
"What a hunk!" drooled Serena.  
  
"He looks like my old boyfriend…" rolled out of Lita's mouth, in her usual hypnotised fashion.  
  
"Hey! You can't develop crush on the same guy as me at the same time!"  
  
"Oh, and why not? You have Darien!"  
  
"Oh yeah, I completely forgot…" replied Serena, trying to make excuses.  
  
"Excuse me, if I could have your attention please," shouted the Principal. The mass chatter of groups of people slowly fell into an anxious silence. "Now, as you may, or may not have heard, the school will be closed for the next week, because there will be some filming of Mr. Octavius' new movie. So, go home, and enjoy an extra week's holiday."  
  
Excited chatters came from the crowd, as small groups and individuals began to break off, and head home. Excitedly, Serena, Lita and Ami began to head off down the nearby high street, as they planned what to do for the next week of free vacation.  
  
"Well, I'm going to sleep, sleep, sleep!" boasted Serena.  
  
"I'm going to catch up on my cooking. There's some new recipes I found the other day that I really want to try!" commented Lita.  
  
"Ooh, sounds exciting!" squealed Serena. Perhaps when she wasn't sleeping, she'd drop in at Lita's place to sample these new recipes.  
  
"Mm hmm," added Ami.  
  
"So, Ami, what do you plan to do, study?" joked Serena.  
  
"Well, actually, there's a new exhibition at the Museum, I think one day I'll go and see that,"  
  
"A Museum? BORING!"  
  
"No, this seems rather interesting. It's all about…"  
  
"HEY DARIEN!" shouted Serena, interrupting Ami mid-speech, as she raced up the street, towards her prince.  
  
"Hey Serena," Darien shouted back, as Serena promptly dove into his arms. "Whoa, steady on!"  
  
"I'm sorry Darien, It's just I haven't seen you ALL day!"  
  
"Anyway, why aren't you at school?"  
  
"Haven't you heard? Our school got closed, they're shooting a movie there!"  
  
"Really? I heard that someone had been looking to use a school here, but I thought they were just rumours."  
  
Ami and Lita finally caught up to Serena.  
  
"Serena, you know it's not nice to cut someone off like that!" scorned Lita.  
  
"Sorry?" asked a confused Serena.  
  
"You cut Ami off in the middle of sentence then ran off!"  
  
"It's okay," humbled Ami. "I knew she wouldn't have listened to me anyway."  
  
"You got that straight!" joked Serena. "When it comes to school and learning, I just don't wanna know!" Serena then turned back to Darien. "So, do you want to go and get some tea?" she innocently asked.  
  
"Sounds good to me," Darien complacently smiled back.  
  
"Okay, let's go!" she chirped, hooking her arm in his. "I'll catch you guys later!" she called to Lita and Ami, and left them together on the street.  
  
"Well, I'm going to go home and tell my folks about this free holiday, what about you?" asked Lita to Ami.  
  
"Well, my mother and father are at work until this evening. I think I'll go to the museum, and check out that new exhibit I was talking about," answered Ami.  
  
"Okay, I'll see you later!" replied Lita, as she headed off down another street, leaving Ami alone on the walk to the museum.  
  
At the museum, it was relatively empty, but this didn't bother Ami. She enjoyed the peace and quiet, it allowed her to observe the artefacts more closely. One such artefact that interested Ami was a large crystal that seemed to have what looked like it had a liquid centre. "Quite fascinating," thought Ami to herself. Her close observing had dulled her senses, and she had failed to recognise the man that had approached from behind.  
  
"Yes, I see you take a fancy to the legendary Quicksilver Crystal too…" the man softly spoke. Ami gasped, and turned, only to be greeted by the man that was with the principal outside the school. Of course! This was Mr. Octavius. But what would he be doing in a museum?  
  
"Oh, yes, it's quite beautiful, isn't it, Mr. Octavius?" replied Ami.  
  
"Please. The name's Direnda. Direnda Octavius, and it's nice to meet you, um…"  
  
"Ami," replied Ami.  
  
"Ami."  
  
"So, do you know the legend of the Quicksilver Crystal?"  
  
"Oh yes, it's one of my many fascinations. Apparently, several thousand years ago, in mysterious, long gone kingdom, there was a great war between the good and the evil. There were several defenders of good. But one night, one was captured by a great evil, and turned to a powerful evil. That evil almost destroyed the good, but fortunately, the leader of the good managed to purge the evil, and entrap it in a crystal, which was hidden away, never to be released again," chanted Direnda, in a trance-like state. "Of course, that's just a legend. I'm sure a smart girl like you is sceptical of legends like that."  
  
"Of course," replied a fascinated Ami. Of course, there were legends she did believe in, like the legend of a kingdom on the moon, mainly because she was part of that legend. But she couldn't tell him about that. "But isn't it beautiful?" she asked.  
  
"Yes, quite hypnotic," chanted back Direnda. "Say, Ami, tomorrow, I'm holding auditions for extras at the school, bring as many friends."  
  
"Sure," replied Ami. This sounded right up Serena's alley, and possibly Lita's. Unfortunately, Rei and Mina attended different schools, and were busy.  
  
Just then, there was a crash, and Ami turned round to see that a junior employee had dropped several new artefacts, but when she turned back to Direnda, he was gone. Vanished.  
  
TO BE CONTINUED 


	2. Chapter 2

Arise, Dear Quicksilver - Part Two  
  
Serena nearly choked on the soda she was slurping when she heard the news. "MEEE? Be in the movies? Where do I sign up?" she shrieked.  
  
"At the school, later today," replied Ami, on the other end of the telephone.  
  
"OOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHH!" screeched Serena, in an ecstatic state. "I'm gonna be in movies! I'm going to be in movie! I'm going to be in movies!" she began to shout.  
  
"Serena? Serena?" asked Ami, trying to recapture Serena's attention. It took a while, but she did succeed.  
  
"Sorry about that, but this is one of my dreams you've just released!"  
  
"So, I'll see you at the school later?"  
  
"You betcha!" Serena squealed, slamming down the telephone. Luna had observed the conversation from a distance.  
  
"Well, this is a first for Serena. She's never wanted to go to school when it's open, let alone when it's closed!" thought Luna to herself, hey eyes transfixed on Serena's leaping and squealing.  
  
"I'm going to be in movies! I'm going to be in movies!" re-chanted Serena, before tripping over her own feet. Serena let out a groan, and Luna leaped down and looked Serena in the eye as she pulled her head back up.  
  
"You really shouldn't be distracted by things like these movies. You should be focusing on your studies and more importantly you should be…"  
  
"I know, I know, I should be focusing on fighting the Negaverse…" moaned Serena. "But Luna, we haven't heard anything from them for weeks, can't you accept that they might have given up?" she perked.  
  
"You never know Serena, it may have been quiet, but that's more reason to be on your guard!"  
  
"Yeah, yeah, I'll get to it!" automatically droned Serena, used to the old 'Negaverse' lecture. But there was a bigger problem. Did she wear the yellow top, or the green one?  
  
At the school, there was a large crowd of young girls, all dressed up to the nines, all interested in getting a part on the new movie. Serena arrived late (as usual), trying to practice her "fashionably late" technique, for when she's famous.  
  
"Hi Serena!" called a voice. It was Molly, who was also dressed up to perform. "Are you here for the auditions too?" asked Molly.  
  
"Hey Molly, I'm not here to audition. I'm here to get the part. Natural beauty like mine should have been in pictures years ago!" gave the smirk of a smug Serena. Luckily, Molly said something that brought Serena crashing down to reality.  
  
"Well, you've got to be able to dance, sing and act to get a part, apparently!" were the words that came out of a cheery faced Molly. These were three more things Serena was an underachiever at, and she *knew* it.  
  
Disenchanted, Serena let out a groan. "Maybe being here wasn't such a good idea…" Serena complained.  
  
"Don't worry Serena, I'm sure you'll do your best, and you never know…"  
  
"You mean, I might get a part?" perked Serena. "Thanks Molly!" she squealed, before rushing off into the crowd, to get in line for auditions.  
  
"Hi Serena!" called Ami, who was waiting in line, accompanying Lita.  
  
"Hey Ami, Lita!" greeted Serena, as she joined them in the queue, which seemed to snake around the school building. "Why aren't you dressed up?" she enquired to Ami, when she saw that Ami was plainly dressed, unlike the rest of the girls.  
  
"That's because I'm not here to audition. I just thought you two would like some moral support," replied Ami. "Besides, I'm too busy with my studies to do anything like acting."  
  
"Ami, you know, you can be such a snore at times!"  
  
"Serena! That wasn't nice to say!" scorned Lita.  
  
"Sorry," replied Serena.  
  
Several hours passed, and the queue had slowly creeped down in size, mainly from girls participating in the audition, but others had given up from waiting. Lita several times had almost given up, but Serena somehow managed to talk her back into waiting every time, despite repeatedly complaining herself how she was bored.  
  
"Next two, please!" shouted a man, as he placed his head around from the door of the classroom where the auditions were being held.  
  
"At last," sighed Serena "I thought this moment would never come," she continued, as she and Lita made their way into the classroom, the door shutting behind. Then there was silence, as Ami waited patiently for the two to emerge, which seemed to happen quicker than the previous auditions.  
  
"What happened?" inquired Ami.  
  
"I didn't get in…" began a teary eyed Serena, before erupting into mountains of tears. "WAHHHHHH" she continued blubbing. "I… We… Down… Out… WAHHHHHH!"  
  
"Serena fell over during the improvisation test, and ruined our audition. So, no movie for us" interpreted Lita.  
  
"Oh well, at least you tried your best," replied a positive Ami.  
  
"I don't wanna wait until next time… WAHHHH!" Serena began to cry louder.  
  
"What is all the racket out there?" yelled a voice from inside the classroom, and the door swung open, to reveal Direnda, with a serious look on his face. He noticed a blubbing Serena, then a reassuring Lita, then he saw Ami. "Ah, Ami, so nice of you to attend. I suppose you will be next?"  
  
"Oh, me?" exclaimed Ami. "No, I'm just here to support my friends on"  
  
"What a shame. A pretty face like yours would have been perfect on the big screen…"  
  
Ami blushed, but remained adamant. "I'm sorry, but I've got enough with school at the moment,"  
  
"Oh well, If you ever decide to try and be in movies, here's my number," Direnda finished, handing over a small card, with his number printed neatly on the front. Ami took the card, but a cold feeling overcame her, and she leapt back, and the card dropped on the floor, taking a worried breath. Quickly, she picked the card up, and mumbled a quick "thank you", before heading out of the school.  
  
Outside, Serena gave Ami a confused look. "Are you okay?" she enquired.  
  
Ami fumbled around with the card, as it rested in her pocket, before pulling on a cheerful face for Serena. "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks!"  
  
"Are you sure? You seemed a little spooked."  
  
"No, really, I'm fine…"  
  
END OF PART TWO 


	3. Chapter 3 - Ami's Nightmare

Arise, Dear Quicksilver - Part Three  
  
Ami tossed and turned in her bed, as she tried to sleep, but for some reason, she just couldn't get to sleep. Every time her eyes closed, a voice began to echo inside her head. But this was no ordinary voice; this was a chilling voice, yet it also had the innocence voice of a young girl.  
  
"Come to me, come to the light" it called out, as Ami tried for the umpteenth time to sleep.  
  
Afraid, Ami sat up, her sweat soaking her bed sheets. She glanced at her alarm clock, as it ticked eerily by, second by second. It was just past two in the morning. But something about that voice scared her. It was like she knew the voice, but didn't have a face to place it.  
  
The same thing had happened all week, ever since the auditions. Every night, the same thing happened, and she had hardly slept in the past few days.  
  
"It's just a dream," Ami mumbled to herself, nervously looking around. "Try to relax, just relax, there's nothing to be afraid of…"  
  
Eventually, Ami drifted off to sleep, her body giving up on itself. But if Ami could have stay awake all night, she would have.  
  
Inside her own dream, Ami was floating, floating in the middle of a dark tunnel, there was nothing around but darkness, and fear, and Ami was afraid. There was nowhere to hide, because Ami could not move. Just then, a light appeared, blinding Ami, and a voice, that same chilling, yet youthful voice began to sound. "Come to me, come to the light," it ordered.  
  
"Who are you?" asked Ami.  
  
"You know me already…"  
  
"Where are you?"  
  
"You know where I am already…"  
  
Suddenly, Ami found herself moving, but away from the light. No matter how much she tried to resist, she was moving faster and faster, pulling her closer and closer to the darkness, almost surrounded by the sheer evilness that the dark emitted. Ami tried to scream for help, but as she opened her mouth, nothing came out. No matter how much she wanted to shout, she couldn't. Out of the blue, the darkness encircled her, and Ami felt like she was suffocating, the air slowly being squeezed out of her lungs. Drawing her final breaths, a sound began to ring in her ears.  
  
"BEEP BEEP BEEP!" it squealed. "BEEP BEEP BEEP!"  
  
Ami sat up, scared, and turned to the beeping. It was her alarm clock; innocently informing her that is was Seven o'clock, and time to be awake. Could it have been possible, that she managed to actually get some sleep? Impossible. Sure, it was seven o'clock, but Ami felt exhausted, and not ready to move. But she had a busy day ahead of her. It was the last day of the extra holiday, and she had some last minute tasks to do before going back to school tomorrow.  
  
Hauling herself out of bed, she made her way to the bathroom, were she ran some cold water under the basin, and splashed herself with it.  
  
"Much better," though Ami to herself, as she pulled her head back up to inspect her face in the mirror, but when she came in contact with her reflection, something didn't seem right about her face. It didn't seem normal. It seemed evil. Ami stepped back, drawing a shocked breath. She blinked, and looked again. There was nothing, except the fear-filled face that was her own.  
  
Outside, while in the city, Ami's day was not getting any better at all. The streets were crowded, and everyone seemed to be pushing and shoving, trying to be dominant in the crowd. For some reason, on today of all days, this made Ami very nervous.  
  
Desperate, Ami made a dive for safety in a nearby café, where she indulged herself in some fresh tea, and a slice of cheesecake. The crowds were beginning to die down, and everything was nice and quiet in the café, when a figure approached behind Ami, and thrust a hand onto Ami's shoulder, making her leap up straight.  
  
"No need to seem so surprised," reassured the voice, as Ami looked up to see who has made her jump, and was met with the figure of a tall man. "Hello Ami," he smiled.  
  
"Oh, hello Direnda," greeted Ami, as she sank back down into her seat.  
  
"May I join you?"  
  
"Sure,"  
  
"Marvellous," Direnda finished, as he sat himself down on the seat facing Ami. "So, what brings you here Ami?"  
  
"Oh, the busy crowds,"  
  
"Same here, I prefer the peace that comes with solitude, it's so relaxing and calm, don't you agree Ami?"  
  
Ami didn't respond. She had totally zoned out. Something was nagging her about Direnda, something didn't seem right. If only she could work out what is was…  
  
"Ami? Ami?" repeated Direnda, to no avail, when suddenly.  
  
"Why do I feel so strange around him?" thought Ami to herself, "It's almost like he's from somewhere that I've…" Ami continued no further, only letting out a weak moan, before mysteriously passing out. Direnda rushed over to Ami, picking her up off the floor.  
  
"SOMEONE GET A DOCTOR!" yelled Direnda, to the crowd in the café, who were just staring at the out cold Ami.  
  
Several hours later, Ami came to, in a hospital bed. Ami sat up, confused at why she was here, when a nearby doctor walked over to her.  
  
"Well, you are a sleeping beauty, aren't you?" joked the doctor.  
  
"Sorry?" replied a confused Ami.  
  
"Well, you've been unconscious for a few hours, but you're okay, as you were brought here fast enough, by a nice gentleman, didn't catch his name, he left not long after he brought you here."  
  
Ami knew who it was. Direnda. Such a nice gentleman he was, but something still bothered Ami about him. Where did he come from? Why has he been near her a lot? Why did she only feel weak around him? Ami turned to the doctor. "Excuse me, but how long am I going to be in here?" she asked. If there was one thing she regretted, it was missing school."  
  
"Don't worry," replied the doctor, "Everything seems to be alright, you're free to go whenever you're ready."  
  
"Oh, thank you!" replied Ami. 


	4. Chapter 4

Arise, Dear Quicksilver - Chapter 4  
  
That night, as Ami slept in her own bed, the dream came back to haunt her. "Come to me, come to the light," the voice called again, and the more Ami heard it, the more she became puzzled by it.  
  
"Who are you?" called Ami, again.  
  
And the reply she got was the same as the previous nights, "You know me already…"  
  
Again, Ami screamed into the darkness. "Where are you?"  
  
"You know where I am already…"  
  
And ever so slowly, the dream began to unfold in the usual manner, moving away from the light, pulling her closer to the darkness. As she tried scream for help, nothing came out, again, as the feeling of suffocation began to overcome her, only to be awoken by the sounds of her alarm clock, informing Ami it was time to get up, still in the sheer innocence that the clock seemed to emit. Nervously, Ami climbed out of bed, and made her way to the bathroom, and splashed her face with cold water. Again, the reflection in the mirror didn't seem to be her, yet it was her face. But this time, the face didn't seem evil; it seemed different, yet she couldn't work out what it was that was different about her face. Confused, Ami rubbed her eyes, and checked again, only to be greeted with her usual innocent face. Nervous, Ami took a step back, and looked again, before getting ready to head to school.  
  
Back inside her bedroom, Ami opened her closet, and began to look for one of her good skirts, but for some reason, they didn't seem so appealing as they usually were.  
  
"I think I need a change," Ami spoke lightly to herself, before diving into a mass pile of clothes that she had never even worn before. From them, she pulled a skirt and blouse that the rest of the Scouts had bought her for a birthday gift, but they were never Ami's sort of clothing. But today, they seemed perfect, as Ami held up the skirt, examining it.  
  
"Yes, this seems alright, after all, it is summer out there!" she smiled to herself.  
  
The skirt and blouse fitted Ami perfectly, a little TOO perfectly. The blouse reached only down to the tip of her navel, and the skirt didn't even brush her knees. Ami took a moment to admire her own self in the clothes. "I don't look too bad!" thought Ami to herself, as she headed out of her bedroom, eagerly ready to head off to school.  
  
In the classroom, several students had arrived before Ami, and were chatting away innocently, but when the door opened, and Ami entered, the crowds went silent, as Ami innocently made her way to her desk. Ami's outfit stunned both the males and females of the class. Ami sat down at her desk, and began to unpack her stuff, as the classroom door swung open again, and Serena came charging in, thinking she was as late as usual. She came to a blazing stop next to Ami, after crashing into some nearby desks. Panting, she pulled herself up to her feet, and turned to Ami.  
  
"Am… I… late?" Serena puffed.  
  
"No, you're on time," replied Ami, who awaited the arrival of Ms. Haruna.  
  
"I am?" confusingly replied Serena, amazed that she could arrive to school on time, "WAHOO!" she screamed, as she jumped around, celebrating. Her celebration was short-lived, however, as she misjudged her leaps, and came crashing down on her face.  
  
"Ugh…" moaned Serena, as she pulled herself up to her feet, again. Ami just smiled to herself, and thought, "Serena will be Serena!" When Serena got back to her feet, she turned to Ami, and looked at her.  
  
"Say…" she began, "Something's different about you…"  
  
"Do you like it?" replied Ami.  
  
"Hold on, I'm trying to decide what it is that's different about you…"  
  
Ami rolled her eyes, as Serena gave Ami a semi-interrogative stare.  
  
"I think I know what it is!" exclaimed Serena. "You've changed your hair!"  
  
"Uh… yeah!" answered Ami.  
  
"I knew it!" celebrated Serena, "And people say I have slow wits!"  
  
Ami just giggled, and smiled, while Serena took her seat, ready for the arrival of Haruna.  
  
The morning rolled by for Ami & Serena. There were a few approving glances from a few of the boys in the class, but Ami didn't seem to notice. Lunchtime came, and Ami sat herself her usual spot under the cherry blossom tree, where she began to eat her lunch. She hadn't got far into it, when a figure approached her.  
  
"Uh… Ami?" the figure asked.  
  
"Yes?" Ami asked, looking up to the figure. It was one of the boys from her math class, who was standing clutching his math book, and his lunch.  
  
"D-d-do you m-mind if I sit here with you, and uh… study?" the boy nervously continued.  
  
Ami smiled, and laughed lightly. "Of course!" she spoke back, motioning to a space next to her. The boy sat down, and opened his lunchbox. The boy began to speak, but was interrupted by another boy, who also asked if he could sit near her. Within a few minutes, there were several males around Ami, all giving her a puppy-dog eye stare of approval.  
  
Across the schoolyard, Serena was walking along, talking to Molly, complaining about just how boring the math class had just been.  
  
"I'm telling you Molly, that had to be the most boring lesson I have ever been in!" she began, "Why do we need to know about Algebra anyway? Its not like it's going to help me in the future, is it?"  
  
Just then, a voice cut her off, "Well, actually Serena, the uses of Algebra can be very useful to everyone, even you!"  
  
"MELVIN!" Molly and Serena shrieked. "Melvin, will you just bug off?" scorned Serena.  
  
"What, you don't want to hear the latest gossip?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"News has it that over by the cherry blossom tree, that Ami is building up quite a pack of male followers…"  
  
"Who, Ami? No way!"  
  
"Why don't you take a look for yourself?"  
  
Disbelieving, Ami began to head in the direction of the cherry blossom tree, closely followed by Molly.  
  
"Come to think about it Serena, Ami did seem pretty different this morning in Math…" piped up Molly.  
  
"Yeah, that was just her hair!" answered a confident Serena.  
  
"No, I think it was the outfit she was wearing!"  
  
"Outfit?" replied Serena, confused.  
  
"Yeah, her clothes seemed a little… shorter than usual!"  
  
Images of earlier today began to flash back through Serena's mind. "Now that you mention it… she did seem a little… less dressed than usual…"  
  
Both girls turned the final corner, and looked over at the cherry blossom tree, and sure enough, as Melvin had reported, there was Ami, with her horde of male admirers. Serena looked over, and took a double take. "No way… that can't be Ami, can it?" 


	5. Chapter 5

Arise, Dear Quicksilver - Part 5  
  
That afternoon, lessons rolled on as usual. Ami was busy writing an essay on a book that the class had finished, Serena was sat trying to think of a good opening paragraph, that was, in between mini daydreams about Darien and puzzling thoughts about what she saw at lunchtime. Why were they all around Ami? What did they want? Why was Darien such a hunk?  
  
"Serena! Stop daydreaming!" yelled Haruna, Serena's teacher.  
  
"Sorry Miss Haruna…" replied Serena, before diving nose-first into her essay. But something about Ami didn't seem to make sense, but Serena wasn't sure what.  
  
Just then, the bell rang, signalling the end of the school day. Everyone rose to their feet, packed up their bags, and began to walk out. There were many murmurs from each group of people who stood outside the classrooms; one such group of people was Ami, Molly and Serena.  
  
"That was essay was so boring!" moaned Serena, she hated essays more than any other part of schoolwork, with the possible exception of homework.  
  
"I didn't think it was that boring, Serena," replied Molly, who had enjoyed the book that the entire class had been reading. "The tale of good people gone bad is rather interesting!"  
  
"Yeah, but there was no romance, it was just excessive violence and swearing. I mean, where was the love?"  
  
Just then, Ami cut in. "I thought the book was pretty good."  
  
"You did?" replied an astonished Serena. She didn't think that the book would be to Ami's style.  
  
"Yes, the tale was well written, the characters were detailed, and the plot…" Ami began, but she seemed to enter a dream world… "It was intriguing…"  
  
"Intriguing?" came back Serena. "The guy killed his own best friend! How can that be intriguing?"  
  
Serena never got an answer, as she was interrupted by a horde of guys approaching Ami, and a barrage of questions of whether or not she'd like to like to come to their place to do homework, a lot of them from people who don't even do their homework anyway. Ami gave a mixed reaction; she seemed flattered, but confused at the same time. The gang had taken Ami by surprise, and they had backed her into a corner, and she didn't know what to do.  
  
"I… uh… um…" began Ami, she was now afraid, she didn't know what to do. Just then, a voice called over the top of the crowd.  
  
"AMI!" it called. Ami looked up, and the large crowd of males looked behind them. It was Direnda. The male group murmured and whispered, as Direnda made his way through the group, towards Ami. Ami's face turned from nervous to relieved, as Direnda finally reached Ami. "Ami, if you'd please…" he added, offering his hand. "You're due for a photo session now…"  
  
"I do?" replied a confused Ami.  
  
"Yes, you do…" replied Direnda, with a subtle implication in his voice. Ami picked up on this, and answered.  
  
"Oh yes… so I do!" she spoke, taking Direnda's hand, where he lead her out to an awaiting limousine. The crowd of people followed, as Direnda held open the door, and Ami dived in, followed by Direnda, who shut the door before anyone could look inside. After barking some orders to the driver, the limousine pulled away from the school grounds. As the limosuine pulled away, Ami let loose a sigh of relief. "Whew, thank goodness that's over… thank you, Direnda…"  
  
"It's no problem," answered Direnda, as the limosuine pulled up outside Ami's house. Direnda held open the door, and Ami climbed out. As she climbed out, he touched her hand, and she turned, and he smiled, and softly spoke, "We should do this again some time."  
  
Ami chuckled. "Yes, we should,"  
  
"Tomorrow, say… 7:00?"  
  
"Sounds fine to me."  
  
"Goodnight, Ami"  
  
"Goodnight!" Ami smiled back. As Direnda closed the door, and the limosuine pulled away, Ami let out a sigh, before opening the door to her house. Her mother wasn't home, as expected. Ami made her way to her bedroom, and sat on the bed, thinking about the day she's had just been through. The whole experience which would have normally scared Ami, she had enjoyed. In fact, she enjoyed it so much, she was going to wear the same sort of clothes to school… tomorrow…  
  
"BEEP BEEP! BEEP BEEP!" It was her communicator. Quickly picking it up, Ami activated it. It was Luna.  
  
"Luna!" exclaimed Ami  
  
"Ami, hurry over to the temple quickly, we need you, the Negaverse is attacking again!" quickly ordered Luna.  
  
"I'll be right there!" replied Ami, as Luna cut the transmission. Ami quickly hurried out of the house, and began to hurry across to the temple, on the other side of town. As Ami drew closer and closer to the temple, a feeling began to overcome her. She didn't feel comfortable. He sprint was slowly reduced to nothing more than a jog, as the feeling overcame her. As Ami arrived at the steps of the temple, the feeling had not just overcome her, it felt like it was weighing her down, when an explosion shot from the top of the steps, and down the steps came the rest of the scouts, all fleeing from another random Negaverse creep. As the rest of the scouts reached the bottom of the steps, followed by Luna and Artemis.  
  
"Sorry I'm late…" began Ami.  
  
"Ami, hurry and transform, we need some assistance!" began Luna.  
  
"Guys, I'm getting a strange feeling about this place…"  
  
"We don't have time, come on!" hurried Luna.  
  
Ami sighed, and held up her crystal wand, and shouted "Mercury… Star… POWER!" 


	6. Chapter 6

Arise, Dear Quicksilver - Chapter Six  
  
Ami's wand began to glow and blue spirals began to encircle her, which signalled that she was steadily transforming from meek Ami to powerful Sailor Mercury. The short time it took to become fully transformed seemed to take forever. Eventually, Ami set her feet back on solid floor, and entered the heat of battle.  
  
The rest of the scouts were already battling back the unknown Negaverse creature, but the creature was more powerful than any monster they had previously encountered.  
  
"JUPITER… THUNDER… CRASH!" roared Lita, unleashing one of her powerful thunderbolts at the creature. The monster roared as the bolt encircled it, but the bolt fizzled out into nothing.  
  
The creature let out a laugh. "Come on, is that the best you can do?" it mockingly sneered, before raising its own arm up. "FALCON'S… URGE!" it yelled, before firing a large bolt of black energy at the team, who desperately tried to scatter before it hit them, unfortunately, both Serena and Mina were not fast enough, as both felt the force of the blast, driving them to the floor. Serena yelped in pain, before trying to move, but was unable to, her legs were in too much pain.  
  
"Help me!" cried Serena, as she watched the creature draw closer and closer to her. Ami hurried to help Serena, but was frozen when she noticed something upon the creature.  
  
"The Quicksilver Crystal…" Ami whispered to herself.  
  
Ami's thought pattern was quickly disrupted by the cries from Serena. Ami's head snapped, where she rose back to her feet.  
  
"MERCURY… BUBBLES…" began Ami, as she powered up her bubbles, before unleashing them on an unsuspecting creature. "BLAST!"  
  
The area quickly filled up with a thick, icy fog, and Ami began to take control of the situation. "Mars! Jupiter!" she began, "Get these two to safety!"  
  
"But Ami, what about the…?" inquired Rei.  
  
"I'll hold it off until you two can return!"  
  
"Alright…" finished Rei, as she picked up the injured Serena, while Lita picked up the Mina. The girls ran off into the fog and down an alley, leaving Ami alone with the creature.  
  
"So, it's just you and me, is it?" snarled the beast as the fog began to dissipate, "Well, let's see what you're made of!"  
  
Ami prepared herself for another attack from the creature, when something peculiar happened.  
  
"Well, come on then… Ami!" barked the beast, only for it to turn tail and run. The words instantly ran through Ami's mind, putting her off temporarily, before setting off in hot pursuit.  
  
The creature set about laughing as it fled along the darkened streets of Tokyo, while Ami gave chase, straining to keep up, using every breath she could take. The creature however, seemed to not tire, as it shreiked its taunts at Ami.  
  
"YOU WEAKLING, YOU CANNOT CATCH ME!" it yelled. Ami puffed and panted as she pursued the creature down each alle and side street, the obscure part-humanoid, part-bird creature skipped and fled in an overbearing manner. The chase dragged on, Ami growing weaker and more tired, unable to keep up.  
  
The creature laughed and shrieked as it drew further and further away from Ami, before unexepectedly turning and heading down a dead end alley, with Ami chasing in hot pursuit.  
  
At the end of the alley, the creature waited as Ami stood midway from the entrance and the end of the alley, her arm against the wall, panting heavily, trying to regain her breath.  
  
"Who… are… you?" panted Ami, "And how… do you… know… my name?"  
  
"Ah, ah, ah!" replied the creature, "This isn't the time or the place to be asking questions!"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
The creature just laughed its high pitched intolerable laugh, as an eerie mist began to fill the surrounding area of the alley. Ami, confused, look around, trying to figure out where the mist came from.  
  
"The time for finding out the answers is almost upon you!" laughed the beast. Ami began to feel a strange sensation as the creature laughed again. Ami tried to respond, but couldn't, her vocal chords seemingly seizing up and stopping working altogether. No matter how loud she screamed, no sound was coming out.  
  
The mist grew thicker and thicker, and it seemed to have an adverse affect on Ami's health, as Ami dropped to her knees, silently coughing and spluttering, Ami's throat growing dryer and tenser, with Ami clutching her throat, trying to get some air, all while the creature's laugh grew seemingly louder and louder.  
  
Ami's vision began to fade, as she began to move to a foetal position, each breath weaker than the last, but more painful each time. With her final breaths, Ami collapsed into a limp state, motionless on the cold, unforgiving floor of the nameless back alley of Tokyo, where followed…  
  
Silence.  
  
Silence from Ami's body, silence from the mysterious creature. However, this silence was not a golden silence, but more a pained silence. An evil silence. A silence broken only by the sound of footsteps, coming through the mist, drawing closer and closer to Ami's body.  
  
From these footsteps, an arm outreached, wearing a white glove. The fingers hidden by this glove began to stroke the dark hair of Ami.  
  
"Yes… she's the one. Good work…" spoke the figure, as it began to cradle Ami's limp body… 


	7. Chapter 7 A Newcomer

Arise, Dear Quicksilver - Chapter Seven  
  
A strange sound caused Ami to awaken with fright. Nervously sweating, she looked around from where she lay, finding nothing. Nothing but her bedroom, the same bedroom that she sleeps in every night. The noise that had awoken her was nothing more than the alarm that woke her up every morning.  
  
"How… how did I get here?" Ami asked herself. The last thing she could remember was passing out, almost choking to death on the mysterious mist that filled the alley.  
  
Ami tried to think about last night. How could she have got home? How come she didn't die out there? How come the creature that she was trying fight hadn't harmed her? How come she was dressed in her usual nightclothes, if she had been unconscious? Ami's train of thought was not to remain for long, when she glanced at her alarm clock, and realised that she was going to be late for school.  
  
Quickly pulling her outfit together, Ami hurried out of the house, trying to make up for lost time, now knowing what Serena must feel like every morning.  
  
Fortunately for Ami, she wasn't as late as she thought she was, and arrived at school on time. There weren't that many students in the classroom already, but of those that were there, there was a large buzz about a rumour of a new student coming to the class that had people talking. More curiously for Ami, Serena was absent, but it was still early, and it could just be that she was late.  
  
The first bell rang, and with that, morning classes began. Before any education started, Miss Haruna had an announcement to make. It seemed that the rumours were true, as she began to introduce a new student to the class.  
  
"Class, this is Chastity Wilson, she just transferred here from America. I hope you will do your best to make her feel welcome here at Crossroads" spoke Haruna. Chastity had remained silent, breaking her silence only to ask which seat was hers. There were many murmurs from the class about the new girls. Chastity was an attractive girl, of about medium height, similar to Ami, and wore small framed glasses with long flowing auburn hair, but had quite a pale complexion in comparison to the American girls that they had seen on television. Chastity sat herself at a seat near the window, and seemed to ignore the world by spending more time gazing out of the window than in the classroom.  
  
The early hours of the day rolled by, and the bell eventually rang, signalling lunchtime. Everyone in the classroom got up and left, leaving Ami and Chastity alone in the room. Ami was about to leave when she realised that Chastity had been left alone, and figured it was unkind to leave her alone, and turned and walked over to Chastity, who was still gazing out of the window.  
  
"Hello there!" smiled Ami. Chastity's gaze did not change, she was either transfixed on something, or in a world of her own. Ami tried again, changing the subject. "Erm, so, you're from America, that must be interesting…" Again, no change. "Well, my name's Ami, nice to meet you!"  
  
Just then, Chastity's head snapped. In broken Japanese, she began to gingerly speak. "Hi, my Japanese is not that great, I hope I am saying right things," spoke Chastity, in a soft voice, that was not dissimilar to a whisper. Ami just gave a smile.  
  
"You're doing just fine!"  
  
Chastity's face gave a smile. Something then flashed through Ami's head. It was like she had seen this face before, a perfect shade of dejá vu. Ami shook off the thoughts. Chastity hesitated again, then began to speak in her broken Japanese. "I not have many friends since coming here. Will you be friend?"  
  
"Sure!"  
  
"Thank you!"  
  
Ami sat herself down at the desk in front of Chastity. The two began to hit it off, and despite Chastity's broken Japanese sentences, she and Ami began to understand each other very well. The two spoke to each other all the way through lunchtime, Ami sharing her bento with Chastity, who it had seemed had not brought any lunch with her.  
  
"Maybe after school, we go shopping or something?" suggested Chastity, as she nibbled away on a sandwich, her nervous eyes trying to avoid meeting Ami's.  
  
"Sure!" was the response she recieved. Chastity's face gave a smile that could only be described as a glow. Chastity then threw her arms around Ami, and in her native American tounge, began to sing Ami's praises, but Ami was unable to make out what Chastity was saying, but was able to understand that Chastity was grateful for finding a new friend in a strange new country. Ami's cheeks flushed red with embarassment as Chastity continued to hug her. After a few more seconds of grateful embrace, Chastity released her grip on Ami. Nervous, Ami quickly turned away from Chastity, to avoid being seen to be embarassed.  
  
"Ami? Friend? Why are you turning away from me?" asked Chastity, with a confused tone.  
  
"It's nothing… honest…" was the stammered reply.  
  
"I sorry, did I embarrass you?"  
  
"No, no…"  
  
Just then, the bell rang, and lunchtime was over. Ami quickly retreated back to her desk as the rest of the class began to file back into the classroom, while Chastity went back to gazing into space as classes continued for the rest of the day. The day rolled past, with the usual boring studies of math and science before the bell rings for the end of another day. The class got up in their social cliques as they departed from Crossroads, and Ami began to slowly walk for the exit of the school, when she heard a voice call down the corridor.  
  
"Ami!" it yelled. Turning around, Ami saw Chastity hurrying down the corridor, trying to catch up to Ami. Coming to a stop in front of Ami, Chastity began to pant, it seemed that she had run pretty quick to catch up. Huffing and puffing, Chastity tried to regain her breath. "Sorry… for… being… late…"  
  
"It's okay, I was going to wait outside the school for you."  
  
"Oh, I sorry. I thought you were going to leave me behind."  
  
"No, I'd never do that."  
  
"Oh. Well. We shall go, yes?"  
  
"Okay then."  
  
And the two headed off into town to do some shopping, mainly window shopping, because Ami didn't have any serious amounts of money on her. The two covered a vast amount of the shopping district, partly in their effort to have fun window shopping, and also in the fact that Ami was helping Chastity learn the city of Tokyo. The two had fun walking around, talking, with Ami helping Chastity to refine her Japanese, while Chastity showed Ami how to speak a little bit of English. The two then entered another clothing store, when Chastity stopped and pointed to something.  
  
"Look! That look perfect on you!" Chastity exclaimed, as she pointed to a skirt that hung on a rail. Running over to the skirt, and holding it up. Ami looked at the skirt and shook her head repeatedly, it was quite short, shorter than her usual fare.  
  
"Oh no, I don't think that would look right on me…"  
  
"Try it!" encouraged Chastity, holding it up to Ami's wait.  
  
"Well, if you say so," replied Ami. For a girl who spoke broken Japanese, she was able to get her own way. Ami slipped into the changing room, and tried on the skirt, before looking at herself in the mirror. Much like the skirt she'd only worn for the first time the other day, this skirt fitted her a little TOO perfectly. But Ami did take to it, and gave herself a little spin in the changing room, before stepping out to an awaiting Chastity. Chastity's eyes shone up when she saw Ami. She began to clap.  
  
Chastity began to encourage Ami to buy the skirt, "Yes, very nice skirt on you. Buy it, buy it!" were among her lines.  
  
"Oh, I don't know if I can afford it."  
  
"Of course you can. You like skirt, don't you?"  
  
"Well, it is very nice…"  
  
"Then buy it!"  
  
"Oh, okay," Ami replied, stepping back into the changing room, and putting her original skirt back on. Stepping out of the changing room, she had the skirt Chastity found over her arm. "You only live once, after all!"  
  
Chastity's face was one of sheer joy as Ami walked over to the counter and paid for the skirt. Slinging the boutique's bag over her shoulder, Ami and Chastity walked over to the exit. As they walked down the street, Chastity came up with another suggestion. "Ami, you want sleep over tonight?"  
  
Ami was confused. "Pardon?"  
  
"I sorry. I must have said wrong," aplogised Chastity, as she tried again, but a bit slower and with more effort. "Ami… do… you… want… to… sleep over… tonight?"  
  
Ami was surprised. She'd know this girl for less than a day, and she was already inviting her to sleep over. "But tonight's a school night, and I have homework…"  
  
"It okay, I have homework too, we do together. And I get you into school okay tomorrow."  
  
"But I haven't got anything that I can…"  
  
"Oh come, come, Ami. We about same size. I loan you some my clothes. Including pyjamas, that okay?"  
  
"Well, it's okay, I guess…"  
  
"Splendid, splendid!" Chastity clapped as she began to try and work out where she lived in comparison to where they were in Tokyo, and headed with Ami back to her place for an impromptu slumber party. 


End file.
